Jesus arrives. He shows up. God becomes flesh.

We don't have to do anything or celebrate in any particular way to have that happen.

As the season of Advent begins this week, we look at what could be considered the start of the Christmas story; the lives of a couple, and how God appeared in ways they never could have imagined.

The story shows us that hopeful theology and the hopeful gospel is so much more than we could ever expect or imagine.

If you grew up in religious communities, you may have been under the assumption that the people who stress the rules the most were the strongest. Perhaps that wasn't the case.

A consideration of the label "universalist".

Theologian Will Willimon says the more important thing to think about is not who is saved, but who does the saving.

What does "all" mean when considering the love of God for all people?

In knowing God, we are drawn towards other people, even those who think and believe differently than we do. We're not drawn apart from them.

he recent news of the discovery of the remains of 215 children on the grounds of a residential school near Kamloops should provide occasion for some pretty jarring self-reflection. What kind of theology would serve those kinds of crimes?

Part of our call, witness, in Christian faith is to see how what Jesus did made an actual difference over all of history.

Maybe, perhaps, there are actually no biblical literalists.

A lot of our views and a lot of our ways of thinking are based on the mistaken assumption of scarcity.

"There is no outside or inside any longer. The world of God he said has entered the world of the human. The hereafter has entered the here and now the heaven to the earth.

There is advent.

God's arrival".

-Karl Barth

The message of Christmas is good news of great joy for all people.

If you grew up in an evangelical culture, you may have heard more about salvation than vocation. Hopeful Christian theology has a lot to say about vocation and often vocation and work can be connected.

If you've spent time in the evangelical tradition or other church circles, you may have at some point been challenged to "stand firm".

It is in Christ that we are made new and that we are all, both good and bad.

What does it mean to be part of a church? It's an interesting question in the last year and a bit when, for most people, being part of a church has meant logging in to Zoom.

As venues and churches are set to reopen, it might be time to ask - what kind of religious communities do we want to connect with?

Theology should always look to the future. Always strive forward.

Prayer can be daunting or intimidating. Perhaps it can be as simple as attention - taking in the beauty of a flower.

Any kind of theology or way of understanding God, philosphy or worldview is too big to consider all at once. So let's look at these things in small, digestable slices.